NEW YORK, NY – TV political commentator Chris Matthews made a controversial statement during his State of the Union coverage.

NEW YORK, NY – TV political commentator Chris Matthews made a controversial statement during his State of the Union coverage.

Chris Matthews hosts the nightly TV show “Hardball with Chris Matthews” on news channel MSNBC. Like the rest of the cable news networks, MSNBC had a number of its commentators discussing President Obama’s State of the Union address last night.

As Matthews was explaining his appreciation for Obama’s speech, he made a very odd statement:

“You know, I forgot he was black tonight for an hour.”

Despite Matthews’ attempts to clarify the statement, many are appalled by the implications of his statement about African Americans in general.